Alleged terrorist threat cancels Bell Gardens City Council meeting

BELL GARDENS >> A man accused of making a terrorist threat that caused the cancellation of a City Council meeting last week won’t be prosecuted, but will be deported, according to city officials and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Wagner said he learned of Facebook postings — they’ve since been taken down — of a man identified as Ness G Anthrax that showed various pictures, including one of a person in a ski mask holding four others hostage.

Wagner said police and city officials believed Morales made the Facebook postings.

“There was stuff in there with pictures of him with assault rifles and various weapons and various things in Spanish,” Wagner said.

One of the Spanish comments used curse words against the Bell Gardens City Council and added, “I’m tired of their corruption. They’re clowns. I’m doing something in regard to this. This is my part-time job. If I was full-time, they would be history,” said Councilwoman Jennifer Rodriguez.

Mayor Daniel Crespo said the four people being held hostage “symbolizes four of us on the council.”

After the page came to attention of city officials, the Police Department began an investigation and arrested Morales, Wagner said.

“He was held over the weekend but we believed he might have been released on Monday,” he said.

As a result, last week’s City Council meeting was cancelled, Wagner said.

As it turned out, Morales wasn’t released. On Thursday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute for criminal threats because there was insufficient evidence, said DA spokeswoman Shiara Davila-Morales.

However, the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement has put a hold on him and plans to deport Morales, Wagner said.

Crespo said he wishes he could have talked to Morales.

“This individual was misled or fed information about the city,” Crespo said. “If he only knew the hard work we have done to bring the city stability. I wanted to speak with him and a one-on-one.”